Mo Ye returned to King Xuan’s Manor the next morning. At the same time, she brought news that Auntie Qing of the Mo Manor had fallen ill from fright. It was said that Yuerong Yard where Auntie Qing lived was haunted last night. According to her personal maidservant Nuanxiang, Auntie Qing saw a female ghost wearing a long white linen dress and her hair streaming behind her appeared at the head of her bed in Yuerong Yard.
It was a little similar to the Fourth Miss. Nuanxiang entered the room as she heard an unusual sound in the room.
In the evening, Auntie Qing rested early and did not ask anyone to accompany her at night, which was contrary to the way she usually behaved. Unexpectedly, such a thing happened in the middle of the night. Nuanxiang had slept outside. When she heard Auntie Qing’s scream, she rushed in and saw a pale and miserable figure at the head of the bed. When the figure saw her coming in, she opened her big mouth and grinned at her.
Then, in the midst of her scream, the figure disappeared in an instant.
The others in Yuerong Yard all rushed in when they heard the noise. Then they saw the unconscious Auntie Qing and Nuanxiang who were frightened and fell on the ground. One of them called, “Qiong’er,” and the other muttered, “Fourth Miss.” Yuerong Yard immediately became noisy. Later, the matter even reached Xu Yan.
She sent people to have a look, but these people found nothing. Since it was still midnight, she asked everyone to sleep separately.
The next morning, Nuanxiang returned to normal, but Auntie Qing, who had fainted out of fear, kept saying that she had harmed Mo Xueqiong after she woke up. She saw Mo Xueqiong in a daze and curled up in the corner of the bed. No matter how others tried to persuade her, she did not dare to put her head out.
Once there was a slight noise, she screamed in shock, “Mo Xueqiong is here.” It caused a mess in the whole yard! Everyone thought that she missed her daughter so much that she was a little crazy.
“My Lady, I saw some valuable jewelry in Auntie Qing’s room, which was placed in a hidden compartment beside her bed. When I went in, Auntie Qing was looking through the jewelry. There were several pure gold bracelets. They looked solid and had gems on them.”
Mo Ye reported to Mo Xuetong. She was also shocked back then. Auntie Qing was an unfavored concubine, so it was impossible for her to have such valuable jewelry. Although the government office where Mo Huawen worked for was profitable, Mo Xuetong who had lived with him for a long time knew that her father would not make personal fortunes from it.
Mo Huawen had always wanted to be an upright official, so even though his favorite daughter had married King Xuan, he had never said a good word for him. He usually did things according to official rules and did not protect Feng Yuran at all. Mo Huawen was the first one to report to the Emperor that Feng Yuran beat some of his concubines to death.
Of course, there were also people saying that Mo Huawen was crafty, deliberately mystifying and obviously up to no good.
However, regardless of whether it was true or not, Mo Huawen was a smart person. He would never do anything greedy at such a sensitive time. As such, it was impossible for Mo Huawen to have such valuable gold accessories in his hands. The origin of his concubine’s solid pure gold accessories was rather suspicious.
“Mo Ye, where do you think you’ve seen a similar accessory before? Or what kind of person can afford such an accessory?” Mo Xuetong smiled slightly as a hint of enchanting coldness on her beautiful face. She did not even know that her smile was very similar to her handsome husband’s angry face.
Mo Ye shrank her neck nervously. She felt very stressful to see such a beautiful smile!
“I think it’s impossible for people who are not rich to own those accessories. Or they should belong to people who are from noble families, at their peak. And It’s possible that they have a status like… you.” Even Mo Ye was worried at this time, she still made it clear. Mo Xuetong in front of her was not a good-tempered person. Now, she really looked like Feng Yuran when he was about to lose his temper.
How could she dare to hide it? Even if part of it was just speculation and sounded treacherous, so what? She had to be honest with her master.
What she said was very reasonable. However Mo Xuetong could eliminate the common rich families. Those who were wealthy but not powerful did not dare to offend her father again and again. If she was not wrong, the plan had lasted for years. It was a long game, and the target was her father.
Mo Xuetong agreed more with that last answer!
She did not expect someone to start plotting against her father more than 10 years ago. She felt both worried and anger in her heart. Her mother was still alive then and she and her father led a life of conjugal bliss. Those people sent women into the manor one by one, and none of them harbored good intentions. Did her mother die so early because of this?
“What else did she say when she saw you pretending to be Mo Xueqiong?” A hint of coldness crept over her beautiful face.
“The moment Auntie Qing saw me enter, her body went limp. She kept begging for mercy and said that it was not her intention. She begged Fourth Miss to forgive her. She claimed that she was doing this for Fourth Miss’s good, but didn’t expect that things would turn out like this? If Fourth Miss wanted to take revenge, she should come to you. Auntie Qing said that you are the one who caused her to die.”
Mo Ye thought for a while and answered. At that time, Auntie Qing’s behavior was very abnormal. As a mother who loved her daughter, even if her daughter came back at midnight, she would not so afraid that she cried, pleaded, and put the blame on others. What she said was quite suspicious.
Mo Xuetong was indeed suspicious of her. This suspicion had appeared when she learned that Auntie Qing and Mo Yufeng were very close. The two were completely unrelated. How could they get close to each other? Auntie Fang had always suppressed Auntie Qing when she was still in the manor. As Auntie Fang’s only son, Mo Yufeng had always considered himself as the legitimate son of his family, and did not like Auntie Qing at all.
Once Mo Xuetong had seen Mo Yufeng walking past Auntie Qing and Mo Xueqiong with a disgusted expression and his head up. He just ignored them.
Mo Xueqiong was so angry that she tried to argue. Mo Xuetong had no idea what the two of them had said, but considering Mo Xueqiong’s sharpness and meanness, she wouldn’t say something nice. Mo Xuetong saw Mo Yufeng slap Mo Xueqiong so viciously that she fell to Auntie Qing. Then Mo Yufeng left.
From where Mo Xuetong was standing, she saw the telltale viciousness in Auntie Qing’s eyes at that time!
Mo Xuetong did not expect that the two of them who once clashed were now on good terms. She would not believe it no matter what. Then, she thought of Yu Feng, who had lost his master earlier. Strangely, he did not panic, and instead, he was very calm. It was impossible to not pay attention to his unusual reaction. Mo Xuetong had a suspicion, but it had not been confirmed yet. However, she believed that she would definitely be able to find a clue if she kept an eye on Auntie Qing. Then she would see what the woman would do.
“Have you asked Mo Feng to keep an eye on Auntie Qing?” Mo Xuetong thought for a while and asked.
After the fright, Auntie Qing would do some unusual movements. It would not be too long.
“I have already told Mo Feng, and he has arranged for his people to do this. My Lady, I think this matter won’t last long.” Seeing that Mo Xuetong agreed with her, Mo Ye breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, what she said just now had crossed the line. Not everyone could mention the royal family.
Other than the few princes’ consorts and those in the imperial palace, who had the same status as Mo Xuetong did? However, no matter who it was, they were all members of the royal family and could not be suspected by a mere maidservant like her. Even though she was a little different from ordinary maidservants, she was still a maidservant.
“Alright, then ask Mo Feng to be careful.” Mo Xuetong nodded. She was very appreciative of Mo Ye’s and Mo Feng’s efficiency in handling matters. She picked up the cup of tea beside her and took a sip. Then, she suddenly turned to look at Mo Lan and asked, “Mo Lan, have the gifts for Mingguo Manor been prepared?”
“I’ve already prepared them. The gifts are all precious and their colors are all bright, especially those bolts of colorful cloth. They’re all the most gorgeous. They were given by the palace at your wedding banquet. Since you don’t like them, I have put them away. The cloth is absolutely exquisite.”
Mo Lan responded with a smile. She had already inquired about Ling Mingyan’s preferences.
“I heard that Duke Mingguo’s wife is not feeling well. I was wondering if we should also send some ginseng to her, but I also thought that it might not be convenient, so I can’t decide it. Please make a decision, My Lady.”
“There’s no need to give her ginseng. Just send her the cubilose that Imperial Noble Consort Wen sent me last time. There’s still her seal on it. Just give it to her as a gift.” Mo Xuetong understood what Mo Lan meant. She thought for a while and came up with an idea. One could not send tonic to others casually, especially as she had heard that Duchess Mingguo was his second wife.
According to You Yuecheng’s temperament, he would not be kind to such a person. It would be troublesome if she was involved. She was just going to watch the show, so she could not be dragged into the play for no reason. She had to keep herself out of it.
“Okay, I’m in a dilemma now. Hearing what you said, I remember that. I’ll prepare it later. And there’s also the matter about Princess Caifeng. Aunt Xianglan just came and said that Miss Hu is seriously ill. Her condition alternates between deterioration and improvement. So she can’t move for a while, and can only stay in our manor for a few more days. My Lady, do you think that they’re unwilling to accept the reality?”
Mo Lan said angrily. Ever since they knew Princess Caifeng and Hu Qianyue wanted to kill Mo Xuetong in the Empress Dowager’s palace, the maidservants around her had been looking down on them. Even the most steady-going Mo Lan had been affected.
“My Lady, think of a way to make them fight against each other. This has nothing to do with our manor. One of them is going to marry King Yan and the other is going to marry King Ning. The two of them have never harbored good intentions to us.” Mo Yu pouted and said angrily. Mo Xuetong did not like Princess Caifeng and Hu Qianyue at all. When she heard that Mo Lan was also disgusted with them, she naturally agreed with her.
“Don’t worry. They won’t live for long. I heard that the Southern Barbarian Lands is in a mess now!” Mo Xuetong smiled slightly, with a hint of a gentle smile in her watery eyes. However, there was a slyness hidden beneath her long lashes. She did not care about that. Anyway, Princess Caifeng had seen how vicious Feng Yuran was. She did not believe the princess would dare to try to marry him.
Then it was worth considering why she had always cooperated with Hu Qianyue!
After coming out of the Empress’s palace, the two of them had been against each other for a long time. Now, they looked like good friends who had a tacit understanding for many years and now became enemies. Why were there so many such plays these days? But why was Mo Xuetong so happy to see it?
Her watery eyes were slightly bright, and the beautiful smile in them couldn’t be hidden!
